The Mead Memorial Chapel

The Mead Memorial Chapel is located in the town of Waccabuc, NY. Built during the years of 1905-1907, it is a Gothic Revival style church designed by Hobart B. Upjohn, the grandson of notable ecclesiastical architect Richard Upjohn. The Chapel is one of the few surviving churches that is still privately owned. It has maintained its architectural integrity and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 30, 1999.

The Mead Memorial Chapel is a late Gothic Revival stone church designed by Hobart B. UpJohn, grandson of the notable ecclesiastical architect Richard Upjohn. The late Gothic Revival style is an adaptation of medieval era forms that became popular during the 19th century. The architectural details comprises of heavy flying buttresses, a squat tower, stone walls, and pointed arches over the windows and doors- all of which can be seen on the Mead Memorial Chapel. The Chapel’s construction began in 1905 at the behest of Sarah Frances Mead and was completed in 1907 and has been preserved by the Mead Family.

The history of the church dates to the third generation of the Mead family of Waccabuc in the town of Lewisboro. The Mead family dates to 1776 in Westchester when Enoch Mead of Greenwich and his wife Jemima settled in “Long Pond,” now referred to as Waccabuc. They became a family of farmers and every male descendant followed this path until their grandson George Washington Mead decided to break with tradition to attend Yale University and study law. After completing his law degree, George took up residence in Brooklyn, New York and establish a law practice there.

In Brooklyn, he met his wife Sarah Frances whom he married in 1858, and the couple were blessed with twelve children. George and Sarah split their time between Brooklyn and Waccabuc, When he retired from his law practice, they moved to Waccabuc full time and settled on Mead Street where they built a home. The house remains in the Mead family to this day. After George's death in 1899, Sarah Mead commissioned the Chapel for the family. The construction of the Chapel was a family project, and Sarah and her children helped plan the building. When the Chapel was completed Sarah Frances Mead dedicated it to the memory of her late husband George Washington Mead on June 30th, 1907.

The Mead Memorial Chapel sits on approximately 1.116 acres of land, overlooking Lake Waccabuc, as well as Long Pond Nature Reserve. The Chapel is one of the few churches in the county that is still privately owned, but the family rededicated it as a community house of worship on July 4th, 1957. Since then, many Waccabuc residents have been married there, and an annual Christmas Eve service is held with a choir of children. The Chapel remains open and active for Sunday services.

1. "Gothic Revival Architecture." Walls with Stories. Last modified September 7, 2020. https://www.wallswithstories.com/uncategorized/gothic-revival-architecture.html.
2. Mead Memorial Chapel, The National Register of Historic Places. Accessed September 23rd 2020.
3. Mead, William. Mead Memorial Chapel. Accessed September 23, 2020. https://meadmemorialchapel.org/index.html. 
4. Williams, Gray. Essay. In Picturing Our Past: National Register Sites in Westchester County, 71. Elmsford, NY: Westchester County Historical Society, 2003.